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Most of those killed in war on drug not involved in drug

Most of those killed in war on drug not involved in drug

Of 2,500 deaths in the government's war on drugs in 2003, a fact-finding panel has found that more than half was not involved in drug at all.

At a brainstorming session, a representative from the Office of Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) Tuesday disclosed that as many as 1,400 people were killed and labelled as drug suspects despite the fact that they had no link to drugs.

"The government drug policy was unclear. Operation staff thus did everything to achieve the goal of reducing the number of drug traffickers. The death toll was highest in February when the policy was first implemented. The number of deaths had lowered in the two following months," the representative said.

Held at the Chao Phya Park Hotel, the session attracted more than 50 judicial officials and academics.

The fact-finding panel worked under the government-appointed committee tasked with analysing the Thaksin Shinawatra-led government's drug policy and its implementation that caused damages to people's lives, property and reputation.

During the war on drug, police attributed many murder victims to silence killings by fellow drug traffickers. However, the families of the victims were demanding justice saying that the victims were not involved in drug trade.

Senior public prosecutor Kunlapon Ponlawan said it was not difficult to investigate extra-judicial killings carried out by police officers as the trigger-pullers usually confessed.

Re: Most of those killed in war on drug not involved in drug

linking this piece of news to the corruption / 3rd world debate, now this is the kind of thing that forms a deep, deep abyss between developed and developing. in Thailand, this news can simply go unnoticed, just as the killings happened without mass protests and national outrage. and of course nothing will ever happen, nobody will be held responsible, families will be left not only grieving but stigmatised. well done.

Re: Most of those killed in war on drug not involved in drug

A few weeks ago, one of the UK's right-wing Sunday newspapers that totally deplored the coup and the removal of Thaksin at the time it happened, carried in its colour section a scathing article on the drug deaths asking whether Thaksin was a suitable person to control one of our countries football teams! Such duplicity!
In this case, with the election coming up, one suspects the timing of these disclosures is more than co-incidental. Why not wait until the new government is installed and have a full and open public investigation rather than leaving such to an interim government instigated committee?
Check also these previous press articles on this matter: